Re: Lubi: Wubi for Linux: Install *ubuntu on any Linux, no partitioning needed

I am experiencing the same problem that hifi25nl mentioned above. I'm using hardy-alternate-i386.iso from kubuntu-kde 8.04-alpha6.

Is it not possible yet to use lubi with Ubuntu 8.04? Does lubi actually need to be updated for each version of Ubuntu that is released? It would be nice if it could be done in a more general way. In any case, any advice would be appreciated.

Re: Lubi: Wubi for Linux: Install *ubuntu on any Linux, no partitioning needed

Originally Posted by hackel

I am experiencing the same problem that hifi25nl mentioned above. I'm using hardy-alternate-i386.iso from kubuntu-kde 8.04-alpha6.

Is it not possible yet to use lubi with Ubuntu 8.04? Does lubi actually need to be updated for each version of Ubuntu that is released? It would be nice if it could be done in a more general way. In any case, any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers,
Ryan

Yes, it does have to be updated for every version of Ubuntu that is released, because the various hacks required for loopmounted booting have changed with every Ubuntu version (and I haven't yet updated it for versions newer than 7.04; I've been working primarily on UNetbootin in my spare time these days). If you need a more "general" way, use UNetbootin http://lubi.sourceforge.net/unetbootin.html which can load/install any distro without a CD (just provide it with your own disk image/kernel/initrd if it isn't among those in the drop-down list).

Re: Lubi: Wubi for Linux: Install fails

Debian Etch is running on boot partition hda1; swap is hda2. (As an aside - the 3 Debian boot floppies do a great job of net-installing Debian on this machine, if you have a pcmcia network card).

I have set up spare ext3 partition hda3, 8.5GB in size, for Ubuntu. I have the Ubuntu 7.04 Alternate ISO on USB flashdrive sda1. I run lubi as root in Debian. It asks for target partition and I choose /dev/hda3, which fstab has mounted at /media/hda3. I choose default root/home/swap sizes. I point to sda1's mount point for the Ubuntu ISO, and Lubi says it is copying the ISO (apparetly to destination hda3). A progress bar shows, but doesn't fill. However, the USB flashdrive flashes away for a while, and seems to have copied over the ISO; folder wubi appears on hda, containing install, boot etc. Lubi invites me to reboot and select Ubuntu from grub. I do, but the installation halts with the error message:-

Re: Lubi: Wubi for Linux: Install fails

Debian Etch is running on boot partition hda1; swap is hda2. (As an aside - the 3 Debian boot floppies do a great job of net-installing Debian on this machine, if you have a pcmcia network card).

I have set up spare ext3 partition hda3, 8.5GB in size, for Ubuntu. I have the Ubuntu 7.04 Alternate ISO on USB flashdrive sda1. I run lubi as root in Debian. It asks for target partition and I choose /dev/hda3, which fstab has mounted at /media/hda3. I choose default root/home/swap sizes. I point to sda1's mount point for the Ubuntu ISO, and Lubi says it is copying the ISO (apparetly to destination hda3). A progress bar shows, but doesn't fill. However, the USB flashdrive flashes away for a while, and seems to have copied over the ISO; folder wubi appears on hda, containing install, boot etc. Lubi invites me to reboot and select Ubuntu from grub. I do, but the installation halts with the error message:-

I have now tried this many times, and each time it fails with the same message. Any assistance will be much appreciated.

EDIT: Nevermind, didn't notice some details in your post. It's likely some bug in the 7.04 version of the loopmounted-booting scripts (Lupin), which is pretty much unmaintained these days, since most effort is going into the version to be incorporated into 8.04. Unless you have some dire need to use a loopmounted partition, which, given that you're already running Debian, you probably don't need (ext3, and even NTFS partition resizing is quite safe and reliable these days), you should probably use UNetbootin, as described below (see the portion on using the HD-Media kernel/initrd to re-use your existing alternate iso), instead.

As for the progressbar, that's due to Lubi being implemented as a series of shellscripts with zenity as a makeshift GUI. UNetbootin doesn't have such issues; I'll most likely simply port the newer fronted code to C++/Qt4 and use it in conjunction with UNetbootin, thereby unifying the codebases required for the Windows, Linux, and future Mac OSX versions (with the exception of OS-specific bootloader-editing code), and essentially eliminating the need for the standalone Wubi/Lubi frontend codebases.

(ignore the following, I've reread the post more carefully and you seem to already have answered the questions; it isn't any of these issues; this is here only for reference, in case it helps)

What version of the iso are you using? Lubi currently only supports installing Ubuntu 7.04 and its derivatives (the loopmounted-booting code changed drastically over the releases, so it's rather difficult to add support for the newer versions; it'll most likely require a rewrite).

UNetbootin http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net or http://lubi.sourceforge.net/unetbootin.html however, supports installing any Ubuntu version (6.06-8.04) (as well as a slew of other distributions), the only difference being that it does a proper partition install, not a loopmounted-boot one, so if all you're looking for is a way to install Ubuntu without a CD, that should do the job.

Also, are you attempting to make a bootable USB flash drive for installing Ubuntu, rather than installing to a partition? That may also be the reason why you're encountering such errors; GRUB sometimes behaves awkwardly when installed on removable media. Try using UNetbootin; select the "USB Drive" install mode and it will install Syslinux to your USB drive; if you want to re-use your existing iso rather than use the netboot install approach, simply download the HD-Media kernel and initrd files from archive.ubuntu.com and select those on the "kernel" and "initrd" lines.

Re: Lubi: Wubi for Linux: Install fails

If Lubi is so hard to crack for loopmounting then would Wubi not be the same as far as functionality? If so why not take the Wubi code and port it back to Linux to make an 8.0.4 compatible Lubi version?

Re: Lubi: Wubi for Linux: Install *ubuntu on any Linux, no partitioning needed

I think Lubi would be a wonderful addition to the official Ubuntu repositories — however, it currently does not support EXT4, which has been the filesystem by default since 9.04.

This is a shame because it would make alpha/betatesting Ubuntu really easy. Actually I am baffled as to why the developers of Ubuntu haven't focused on this tool to make testing of Ubuntu development releases more convenient, without the hassle of partitioning.

edit: Forgot my actual question: Are there any plans to add support for EXT4?